If you are a Chanel fan, you should watch out the counters on 5th of May since they usually bring out new collections or launch new products on the day when the lucky number of Coco Chanel doubles, 05.05. This year was no exception. The brand released a new version of No.5 as well as two limited edition multi-colored version of their Les Beiges Powders. In Breuninger Stuttgart, they were also giving away a single white rose to their customers tied to a card sprayed with No.5 which decorated my living room that week. I have posted a photo of white Rose of Chanel on my Instagram. In case you are not following me, please do so, stop by and say hi. I caught the Instagram Bug about a month ago after having an inactive account over a year.

Chanel Les Beiges Healthy Glow Multi-Colour Powder #01 & #02

I decided to splurge on both of Les Beiges Multi-Colour Powders. I knew I would like #01 since the color of the blush was very fresh and brightening, but I was also planning to get a darker Les Beiges shade, like #50 to contour and as a subtle bronzer. When I went for a make-up by Chanel's International Make-up Artist, Yannick Lemaire (which I mentioned about previously here), he used #30 to contour and sculpt my cheekbones and it looked very natural and polishes. I couldn't decide between #30 and #50 and I knew I didn't want #40 because it leans too warm. An important thing to note about Les Beiges Powders are that, as much as their shades go deeper as the number gets higher, the undertones do differ a lot so one has to always try the powders and make sure the undertones match. As an example, I can see #30 and #50 working on me but #40 not. Long story short, I decided to get Les Beiges Multi-Coloured #02 instead of my long term wish product #50 (or #30). Was it a good decision? Let's see...

Chanel Les Beiges Healthy Glow Multi-Colour Powder #01

The first one I would like to talk about is Les Beiges Multi-Colour Powder in #01. The top of the powder has a light and shimmery powder to highlight, the layer in the middle is a mid-toned yellowish beige with matte finish, which is very close to the regular powders of the range but very "warm toned" and the bottom stripe is a light peachy pink shade with satin finish to brighten up or to use as a blush.

Close-up: Chanel Les Beiges Healthy Glow Multi-Colour Powder #01

Below you can see the stripes swatched one by one. You can use this product by mixing all the shades together and using it as an all over powder to brighten up the complexion or use the stripes separately. The highlighter is a beautifully subtle one on my complexion and the blush works beautifully on my cheeks with a dense blusher brush (like Tom Ford or Rouge Bunny Rouge ones). The mid shade though is too warm for my undertones and it can't contour since it is too light to do that. The middle shade is a miss for me if I want to use the parts separately. If I want to mix all of them together, it makes other shades blend with my skin and provides some warmth to my complexion.

Les Beiges Healthy Glow Multi-Colour Powder #02 has also similar stripes to highlight, contour and brighten, but on my complexion this one works as a bronzer rather than multi functional powder. For deeper skin tones, I can imagine the highlighter applying beautifully, on me highlighter is way too dark to be used as a highlighter. The middle shade is again too warm for my liking. All of them swiped together makes a nice bronzer with not so much "orange" undertones, which wouldn't work on me. The bottom stripe takes away the orangeness of the middle stripe and brightens the complexion up. At the moment, #02 is too dark to use all over on me but I will take it with me to summer holidays and expecting to get a good use of it there after my skin darkens a little.

Below I am wearing Les Beiges Multi-Colour #02 as a contour and bronzer with a very light hand and #01 bottom most stripe as a blush and highest stripe as a subtle highlighter. On my eyes I have one of the new Quads of Chanel, #224 Tisse Riviera and on my lips I am wearing Guerlain Rouge G #15 Galiane which I am obsessed about at the moment as a nude lip.

FOTD: Chanel Les Beiges Healthy Glow Multi-Colour Powder #01 & #02

Final thoughts:

All in all I like adding Les Beiges Powder to my collection but I could as well live without it. The middle stripes are very warm to my liking and although highlighter and blush are pretty, I have many other highlighter and blushes which would give the same effect. On me, #01 is nice as an all over powder but with my normal to dry skin, I don't need a finishing powder or an all over powder. I might use #02 for the humid days at summer holiday where I opt not to put on any makeup, so it might help to brighten up my complexion and slightly control any unevenness of the skin after I am a few shades darker.

I think it is important to analyze what your needs are and how your skin tone and undertone is before approaching these powders. Do you at all need a powder? Do you need an overall powder or something to sculpt? Do you need a travel companion? Do you have warm or cool undertones? Also check out many swatches from different skin tones to make up your mind, as an example, Jenny from Belletristic Beauty is few shades lighter than me and here she swatched #01. Also Sabrina from Beauty Look Book, who is a few shades darker than me with warmer undertones swatches #02 here.

I now have the feeling I should have gone for #30 or #50 of the regular line instead of getting something I partly can't use (the middle shades) but depending on your needs and wishes you might find these to be the dream product you were searching for.

Both of the powders are listed as limited edition. Have you checked them out yet? I would love to hear your thoughts.

18 comments

I got No 30 last year and I have made a lot of use of it as a touch up contour (I keep it with the kabuki handbag) as it is one of the few 'bronzers' cool enough for my taste. With a light touch I can use it elsewhere to give a slight glow (I think it is the only one of the shades 10 - 50 with a very slight shimmer which I like). I am so glad I took the sales assistants advice to buy it for those purposes instead of No 10 which I had intended to get as a finishing powder. I also got healthy glow No1 last week and I'm still on the fence about how useful it is. The individual shades really aren't very pigmented even for my very fair skin - I was using the bronze and pink as contour and blush this morning and really had to work to get any colour. It looks gorgeous in the pan but I think its a bit of a dud on application, or, at least, there are better 'glow' products, blusher etc out there. Susan, London

Hi Susan,I hear you about getting more use of original Les Beiges. I think they are meant to be sheer, which is a good think when it comes to subtle bronzer/contour but with a product like this one, which promises highlight/blush and contour, it just doesn't work as good as one would expect. No 01 is good for an over all finishing brightening though and if I use a very dense brush, I can apply the blush on my cheeks to show up. But as you said, one has to work to get the color. Probably I would have been better off invention on #30 which looked beautiful on me when the make-up artist applied.

Hi Claire,Thanks, yes you are right, the middle shade in 01 could be a little darker, so whole thing would be better to multi task. Also I think the undertones matter, it is way too warm for contouring but once used overall maybe this is the shade which makes it possible to blend everything to the skin so it doesn't look ashy. I think all in all it is impossible to design a product which would perform for all types of usage and all skin tones. Maybe my expectations were a little too high to start with :-)

Oh thank you Sara, great review/comparison! I still haven't stopped by Chanel but I'm considering N°01 due to the "multitaksing" possibilities and I don't have a blush in that color so it would be a plus. N°02, although beautiful would definitely be a waste for me since I already have all the bronzers I need

Hi Helene,I don't know if you own any Les Beiges Powders and How you use them but instead of this, you can also check out #30 of the regular line, as a contour. These are more sheer than bronzers so do make a good contouring/sculpting powder which doesn't look heavy nor overdone. But if you have your eyes on that fresh looking blush, than go for #01 :-)

I'm lusting after these, but I just got Clarins Colours of Brazil bronzer (which is fantastic) and accidentally acquired the Guerlain Sun Celebration powder which I wasn't going to get as Terracotta tend to go on unevenly on me - but opportunity knocked and now I can't bring myself to even swatch it! I've got more bronzers than I can use in three years :p

Clarins make superb powders, I have their bronzer from last year, which I really like so this year I had to stop myself from stacking one above other, lol. Terracotta is to die for and it is more than a bronzer, you should definitely use it, it apples beautifully, I also love the blush side of it. Yes I am convinced you are overly bronzed and not need these ;-))

Thank you, Sara, for such an honest review. Too often beauty bloggers feel the need to gloss over products that don't quite hit the mark for them. I really want to try a Chanel powder, but I will be extra careful knowing that these run so warm. These will need to be looked at in person and not just casually bought online like I like to do with other products.

Hi Sara, thanks for another great review as always! I passed on these as last year's Les Beiges powder was still mostly untouched... i dont like looking tanner than i really am (Asian white-fetish), and when I swatched these I thought the blush and highlight stripes are useless on their own without much pigmentation. Your makeup looked flawless though, loved your eyes! But i think i can see #02 in the photo... it turned somewhat orange?

I actually love that these are so warm toned. But I agree that while both palettes are super pretty they are not exactly total must-haves. That's why I promised myself not to crack and to just leave them. I know I don't need them.

I have been on the fence about these powders, but you finally convinced me, as my skin is quite dry and least thing I need is powder all over my face. Actually lately I have been purchasing all sort of cream/ liquid products, specially blushers and highlighters and different all over iluminating fluids as I feel that way the result appears fresher and healthier. Anyways, thanks for your review, Sara.